I’m Belle Beth Cooper, Writer and Entrepreneur, and This Is How I Work
If you browse the technical publications that plunge into our hacker lives from time to time, you’ve probably seen the work of Belle Beth Cooper . Her writings can be found all over the Internet; she has a clear voice in describing self-improvement, programming, and writing.
Belle has written articles for many sites like The Next Web , Crew , and now Ghost , and we have published her work frequently here on Lifehacker as well. Because she writes frequently about productivity and learning in an eclectic range of projects, Belle is a typical Lifehacker story. I asked her to tell us about her work habits and her favorite tools that she uses to accomplish her tasks.
Location: Melbourne, Australia. Current job: Co-founder of Hello Code , content creator at Ghost. One word that best describes how you work: periodically! Current mobile device: iPhone 5s 16GB Space Gray. Current computer: 2013 13-inch MacBook Air. I use it with Apple Magic Mouse, Dell 24-inch monitor and Matias Ergo Pro keyboard .
What apps, software or tools can’t you live without?
Notepad and pen. My favorite notebook is the Leuchtturm1917 medium-sized (A5) with squared pages. My most used pen is the Ti-Click Pro, which has a stylus on the end that you can insert a whole bunch of different refills into.
How is your workplace arranged?
I work from home. In winter, I move my desk to the upstairs bedroom, which is warmer. In the summer I move it to the corner of the living room. I love natural light, so I try to have as much sunlight as possible in my workplace.
I just added a Dell monitor to my setup so I’m still getting used to the big screen. So far I like it. How nice it is to have more than 13 inches of space when I code, and to have room for two windows side by side when I write.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
I use TextExpander all day on my Mac and the built-in iOS shortcuts on my phone. I use them to type things like my email address and websites that I always type. I also have several shortcuts for the Markdown syntax that I have to type frequently, such as `! [] () `To insert an image. I hardly think about TextExpander, but I use it so often that it really makes my day faster.
I also often use BetterTouchTool my Magic Mouse or touchpad of my laptop. I use it to set up custom shortcuts for different touches and swipes, so I can do things like open a new tab in my browser by swiping left with three fingers, and switch between tabs by swiping up and down with three fingers. Once the muscle memory for these gestures is established, the work will become much faster.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I use 2Do for everything that has a deadline or that I want to do “someday” and that I can forget about. I usually supplement it with a notebook or simpler list app to keep track of what I really want to do today, tomorrow, and by the end of the week – things that have no deadlines but I want to plan for when I get them done.
What device, besides a phone and a computer, can you not live without and why?
My iPod Classic. Mine stopped working right after Apple stopped making them, so I ended up paying a small fortune to buy it on eBay to replace it. I don’t know what I’ll do when this one dies.
Are you always working on something? Or when you finish a project, do you take the time to let your mind wander without worrying about what comes next?
I constantly have new projects waiting to start and unfinished projects that need to be completed. I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have a project on the go.
What are some of your best everyday activities?
Get up early. I really hate getting up after 7 am because I feel like I’ve already wasted my day. I thought it would be difficult to work from home every day and maintain my morning routine, but (unlike my co-founder Josh) I’m a champion at starting early.
What do you listen to while you work?
Basically I switch between indie pop and musical theater music. Sometimes I accidentally work without music if I’m really focused on something, but I rarely do it on purpose. On average Wednesday (the same day I write this) I listen to 51 songs (thanks to Exist !).
What are you reading now?
I always have two books at the same time: fiction to read before bed and documentary to read in the morning. Right now I’m reading Raising Bebe and I Don’t Know How You Know Me . I suppose this is some kind of narrative nonfiction, but usually I have a clearer distinction between a programming or psychology book in the morning and a classic novel to read before bed.
How do you replenish?
I love to lie down and watch TV for a few days when I feel too tired or lazy to do anything. If I don’t feel tired but need to recharge after work, I always feel good after going out to a good brunch or watching some good theater (musicals always cheer me up).
What is your sleep routine?
I like to get up early. At the moment, my Pebble has an alarm that vibrates on my wrist at 5:45. After using vibrate, I will never go back to beep again. Although I wake up early, I make sleep a priority because I know how important it is. On average, I sleep less than 7.5 hours a night.
When I go to bed at night, I use SleepPhones and my iPod Classic to keep my mind busy. I hate trying to sleep and fighting my brain’s urge to think about work, so I found it helps me relax. I usually listen to reruns of TV shows like Friends, so I can imagine visuals in my head as I listen, leaving no room for annoying thoughts that kept me awake. It’s really hard for me to visualize anything, so recreating what I’ve seen many times works much better for me than, say, listening to an audiobook and presenting a scene.
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
Jessica Richman, founder of uBiome .
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Damn it, kids, you have to be kind.” – Kurt Vonnegut